Wisdom from Black Star Leaders

Last week, Greg and I attended the Black Stars Summit and Awards Gala—a first for us. Black leaders from tech, finance, media, retail, health, and other industries came together to share their expertise and experience in navigating the business landscape. Leaders from Google, Warner Bros., Morgan Stanley, McKinsey, KPMG, Teksystems, Deloitte, to name a few, were eager to discuss the insights from their journeys. Over two days, the Summit and Awards were filled with an exuberant spirit that recognized and embraced excellence as a leadership standard. The event is one of several programs created by PanaGenius, a media company committed to amplifying the diverse voices and experiences of Afro-Americans.

The first day was the Summit where attendees’ cups overflowed with speaker stories of challenge and triumph, lessons learned, and personal experiences. Paring down the leadership gems shared by the twenty-five speakers, there was a consistent theme on relationship with self and with others. The primary mantra was that the quality of our leadership is based on our self-awareness and on the authenticity of our relationships with those we work with. Here are some gems to consider:

Relationship with Self:

• Your value is rooted in your self-belief. Value your impact.

• Be clear about your why.

• Tell your story to share dimensions of your authentic self so people can tell your story when you are not in the room.

• Bet on yourself and take calculated risks. Ascent is not necessarily linear.

• Creatively promote and showcase your work.

• Test and learn to fail fast. (similar to our JLP principle of Antagonistic Cooperation)

Relationships with Others:

• Relationship management is fundamental.

• Cultivate and create opportunities for relationships to flourish through intentional engagement.

• When you don’t trust people, they know.

• Make sure that your relationships are not one-sided—there needs to be give and take.

• Understand your environment, so you can assess yourself through the culture.

• Create a network of strong peer relationships where you can get valuable feedback.

• Share what you are going through so people can help—because they will.

• Participate in company activities.

I’ve written about the importance and value of mentorship. Speakers on two of the panels emphasized not only mentorship, but sponsorship as an even greater asset, both inside and outside of your company. They pointed out that the beauty of a sponsor, built organically through the wisdom above, is that they advocate strongly on your behalf to rise up the ranks, whether you know it or not, because there is typically no formal relationship.

Day two, a Gala at the iconic Capitale in lower Manhattan, was an evening of pure appreciation and celebration. Attendees, regal in beautiful attire, enjoyed cocktails and fine food, as thirty honorees were applauded for their outstanding achievements. The energy was charged, the empowerment palpable, and the joy reflected in shining faces.

I’ll leave you with a question that was asked at the beginning of the Summit:

What are you going to do to make history?

And a statement made at the end of the day:

We have more power than we think we have.